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Stausland
Stausland, officially the United States of Stausland, is an island located in NationStates and not far from Denmanath. It was founded by the Treaty of Saloire in 530 AD. As an island nation its navy has a strong reputation. It's a major trading centre and has a rich history. It is a democracy and a federal republic. Its constitution dates back to 742 AD, the oldest of any republic in the region. There are 7 states (Santoire, Werva, New Oxlon, Freessonn, Clare, Phora and Vynnton) It has suffered 4 civil wars as well as numerous other wars but since the Treaty of Gattop in 1597 (which still stands) Stausland has only ever gone to war in order to aid Denmanath. The last civil war lasted from 1258-1260. Originally there were 10 states but eventually they gained their independence, the last such time was this happened was in 741. The people of Stausland are closely related to those of Denmanath. They are known as the Stauslanders. There is no 'national church' however the constitution recognised the Church of Stausland as 'the established church of the Republic' until 1970. However, since religious freedom is guarunteed in the constitution it didn't have quite the same power as the Church of Denmanath. =Government= As a federal democracy there are powers guarunteed to the states and to the Federal Government (Fed). Constitution The constitution of Stausland contains 18 parts and 180 articles and over 850 sections. It is a reasonably long constitution and has been amended 140 times. It was adopted in 742. Parts These are its constituent parts. Preamble Union and its Territory Citizenship Fundemental Rights of Citizens and Non-Citizens The Union The States The Federal Executive The Federal Legislature The Territories of the Union The Relationship of the Union and the States Commerce Inter-State Relations Judiciary Elections Emergency Provisions Miscellaneous Amendment of the Constitution Standing Laws While no part has ever been repealed in its entirity several articles and sections have been dropped, especially in Part XVII - Standing Laws. Articles and sections have also been added to the Constitution. Amendment Stage 1 Amendments to the constitution can be originated in either house of Congress. They can also be originated by the President (in the Senate Chamber by tradition) or if the Senate is petitioned by two State Governors. Stage 2 The house in which the amendment was originated must approve the amendment with a two-thirds majority of those voting. Stage 3 The other house of Congress must approve the amendment by two-thirds of those voting. Stage 4 The President must sign the bill, if he vetoes it then the amendment is not dead unless one state governor 'seconds the veto of the President' within 21 days. If no state governor does second the veto then it is likely that the amendment will pass (see Stage 5). Some state governors may require the governor to seek approval before seconding the veto. Stage 5 3 states must ratify the amendment by means specified in their own constitutions. This must be done within 365 days from the date of signature of the President (or from the day the President's veto expires, 21 days from the veto unless it is seconded). Once three states ratify the amendment then the amendment is considered passed and becomes effective 7 days later. In Werva the amendment can only be ratified by referendum. In Clare there is only a referendum if its two houses of parliament don't approve the amendment with two-thirds of those voting. In New Oxlon the Governor has the power to ratify the amendment by means of his own perogative. The Federal Government consists of the executive, legislative and judicial branches. They are defined by the constitution. Executive President The President of the Union is the head of the executive branch. He is elected to a four-year term by the Electoral College. He is the head of the executive branch of government. He is the Commmander-in-Chief of the defence forces. He must sign federal bills into law. Until the passage of the 53rd Amendment in 1176 his veto was absolute but the 53rd Amendment stated that if the president vetoed a bill he must submit his objections in writing to the Union Congress. If both houses of Congress over-ride his veto (this requires a 2/3 majority of those voting in both houses) then the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court must sign it into law. If the veto is not over-ridden then it is defeated. The president is responsible for the appointment of diplomatic, judicial (non-political and with consent of the Senate and 3 state governors), and has the supreme responsiblity of issuing executive regulations. He may also grant pardons and commute sentences. The president is responsible for foreign policy (Congress may not interfere in foreign policy). Even though he is Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces he must receive Congress's approval before declaring war. He is also the ex officio chairman of the Council of State (the 7 state Governors + the President). He is sworn in at a ceromony on the 6th of January and declared President of the Union. As of 2011 President Geoff Sellander is paid a salary of £4,000,000. Residence He has resided at Presidential Palace in Saloire since 1700. From 1345-1700 he lived at Tear Cliff Castle,which in 1345 was a mile south of Saloire. Tear Cliff Castle was purpose built for the presidency and took 25 years to complete but president Robert Fennell found it cold and uncomfortable and in 1693 he ordered the Presidential Palace to be built, he moved in 1700 after being elected for a third term but he died two years later in the ballroom (the ball was held to celebrate his wife's birthday). Prior to 1345 he resided at the Galtara, a seventh century fortress and castle in the centre of Saloire. Presidential Cabinet He appoints his ministers (1798-1897 the Senate had to approve these appointments but the 133th Amendement (1897) repealed the 118th Amendment (1798)). The Cabinet is recognised under the 2nd Amendment. The 90th Amendment (1492) states that there must be at least 7 ministries and no more than 21 ministries (4-14 under the 40th Amendment 965AD). The only ministry specified in the constitution is the Ministry of the Treasury. It specifies that the Ministry of the the Treasury has jurisdiction over the Tresaury and that the Minister of the Treasury be its head. This means that the Ministry of the Treasury cannot be abolished and its title cannot be changed. The President can change the titles and jurisdictions of the ministries at will, though in order to increase or decrease the number of Ministries senatorial approval is required. The 102nd Amendment (1610) states that the Vice-President, Senators, Deputies, State Governors nor any holder of any state office ('albeit legislative or executive') may hold a ministry. Judges, both federal and state, are prevented from holding any political office. There is a difference however between ministers and the Cabinet. Legally the Cabinet is merely an adivisory body to the president. He can 'invite' any member of the public to be a member of it, though in practice, he only ever invites his senior officials such as ministers. Ministers have no legal right to be members of the Cabinet nor does the VP. Many presidents didn't invite their VPs to Cabinet though every VP since Rose Jertoff (VP 1896-1904 and President 1908-1916) has been a member of Cabinet. The constitution allows congress to limit the number of members of Cabinet ("as law provide") to "not less than twenty-one and not more than twenty-eight in number". The pay of the members of the Cabinet (in that legal capacity) has not increased since 1209: £5 per year. Vice-President The Vice-President is, legally speaking, elected by the Electoral College. Each candidate submits to the Electoral College who they nominate to be Vice-President (VP) before it goes into conclave. In reality however the public along with everyone else knows who will be nominated by whom. Once a presidential candidate becomes President Elect then the nominated VP becomes Vice-President Elect. He is sworn in at a ceromony on 6th January and proclaimed Vice-President of the Union. The incumbent as of 2011, Natalie Dellenport, is paid the same as a minister, £2,500,000. President of the Senate The VP is the ex officio President of the Senate. The role of the VP in the Senate varies from VP to VP. Some VPs see presiding over the Senate as one of their main responsiblities where as others usually delegate this role to someone else in the party. Advisor Another key role of the VP is to attend cabinet and advise the Cabinet and President. He is generally invited to the Cabinet. Residence For over 50 yrs there was no official residence of the VP. In 799 Congress consented to the building of Chesten Castle (so called because the land it occupied was in a part of the City of Saloire) plans were drawn up almost immediately and work got under way in March 800. In 808 the Vice-President Fervous Donne and his family moved in and the castle was fully completed in 812. It was however consistently modified and expanded. It is still the residence of the VP today. Ministers At present there are ministers 11 each in charge of a ministry. These ministries are (in no particular order): Treasury, Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs, State Affairs, Education, Defence, Health, Transportation, Commerce, Energy and Envirnmental Affairs, and Agricultural and Marine Affairs. Ministers along with the VP and President sit at Cabinet. They are appointed by the President and serve at his pleasure. As congress may delegate some of its powers to the executive (or more to the point the President) and the President can further delegate these powers as he sees fit. He can move around the titles and powers of ministries at will, (with the exception of the Treasury which the Constitution allocates to the Ministry of the Treasury by name). He may not however alter the number of ministries without permission from the Senate. Ministers are assisted by Junior Ministers (with each junior being allocated responsibility for an area of the ministry's work) and by a Deputy-Minister. While the Deputy-Minister is nominated by the Minister he is appointed by the President, and the Junior ministers are appointed by the minister. Ministers and Deputy-Ministers are mentioned in the constitution and are forbidden from holding governerships and seats in Congress. Junior ministers are not mentioned in the constitution but they are frobidden by custom (though not law) from holding Senate seats, they may however be Deputies. Legislative The Union Congress is bicameral. The upper house is the Senate and the lower house is the House of Deputies. They share equal power on most matters of legislation but the Senate has greater control over the executive. Senate The Senate is the representitive body of the states. As there are only 126 Senators compared to 1,000 Delegates Senators have cosiderably more capacity to be seen and noticed. They are paid one and a half times as much as Deputies. The Chief Senator, Minority Leader and the President Pro Tempore are all paid more (50%, 25% and 20% respectively). The Deputy Chief Senator performs the duties of the whip for the majority party and has a 20% increment. The Senate alone has the power to ratify treaties, judicial appointments and to approve the alteration of the number of ministries and their jurisdictions. By tradition if the president wishes to introduce a bill to Congress he does so in the Senate and indeed most of the legislation that the President's party wishes to introduce is introduced in the Senate if they have a majority in the Senate. Usually however the President only ever introduces very high profile legislation personally and usually instructs the party members in the Senate to do so. Senators are required to be at least 25 years of age and citizens of Denmanath for a minimum of 7 years. As of 2011 each Senator is paid £1,500,000 per year. Election The Senate has 126 members elected to 8-year terms. There are 18 senators for every state and half are elcected every four years at the same time as the President and the House of Deputies. Therefore only half the house can be cleared at every election making it more likely that the two houses of Congress will be of different parties. They are elected on a party ticket and whichever ticket gets the most votes wins all nine seats. This excludes smaller parties from the Senate. Originally Senators were elected to 24-year terms but over the years successive amendments have reduced this to eight years. A proposed amendment to reduce this to four years was vetoed by President Roberta Fletcher in 2005 and seconded by current president, then Governor of Werva, Geoff Sellander. President of the Senate The Vice-President of the Union is the ex officio President of the Senate. Some VPs personally preside over the Senate when possible but usually he does not as he has other engagements to attend to. He has a vote by convention states that he use it only where there is a tie. If he is not present to preside over the Senate then the President Pro Tempore presides or another member of the majority party. House of Deputies The House of Deputies (informally: the House) is the lower house. They are elected from amongst the states and are assigned to each state in accordance with that state's population. The budget is introduced by the Minister of the Treasury in the House and the President commends the budget to the Senate. The House is usually seen as the weaker house as there are so many members and because the constitution gives many important powers to the Senate exclusively. The facty that there are 1,000 members allows each member very little speaking time and can often lead to delays if many members wish to speak. Therefore the media usuallly focuses in on the 'front benches' that is, the senior members of the two parties who have posittions as spokessmen for the party on various issues and are the political 'heavyweights'. The fact that the House is so often dominated by roughly 30-40 members (3%-4%) and is often restrained by the whip system when called to a vote is hotly debated and controversial. Election The 120th Amendment (1821) ruled that each state must use a party list system using a state wide Droop Quota and largest remainder system. Prior to this each state could "by its own laws provide the means by which the assigned number of Deputies shall be elected by the people of the same to represent the same" i.e. they could decide themselves how to elect their Deputies. The amendment meant that each deputy representedf the state as a whole and not their own individual district. However the 135th Amendment in 1973 repealed the 120th (the 120th Amendment came into affect with the federal election in 1824 and ended with the election in 1972, that is 37 elections) and now states can choose between PR and single seat districts elected by plurality voting (the latter system was used in every state prior to the 120th Amendment).